Method of making fiber products



Aug. 21, 1934. A. GERARD ET AL.

METHOD OF MAKING FIBER PRODUCTS 2 Sheets- Sheet Aug. 21, 1934. A. GERARDEl AL METHOD OF MAKING FIBER PRODUCTS 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented Aug. 21,1934 UNITED STATES I METHOD OF MAKING man PRODUCTS August Gerard,Reading,

Brighton, Mass, assignments, to

and Maurice Weisman,

assignors, by direct and mesne Cotton- Wood Products, Inc.,

' g, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Original application May 9,1928, Serial No. 276,303. Divided and this application March 23, 1931,Serial No. 524,514

Claims. (Cl. 154-33) r This invention relates to fiber products havingcushioning or insulating characteristics, and to methods and machinesfor making such products. This application is a division of ourcopending application Serial No. 276,303, filed May 28.

One object of the invention is to produce cushioned pads for use in thecovers of candy boxes and the like.

Heretofore, efforts have been made to manufacture cushion pads, and thelike, from wood pulp fiber in a simple and inexpensive manner, butdifliculties have been experienced in making an adequate, coherent andrugged pad, owing to .the short lengths of the fibers and thedifiiculties of joining the fibers together in such a manner as toproduce the desired resiliency.

An object of the present invention is to overcome these difficulties andto provide an efiicient, durable and easily constructed cushioned pad orinsulating product of much lower cost than that of the usual cushionedproducts now available.

Another object is to make out of waste paper or similar fibrousmaterial, cushioning or insulating products adapted for use as cushionedpads, thermal insulation, acoustical insulation, packing, sheathingpaper and related uses.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, old newspapers'or other waste papers, or similar materials hereinafter referred to aspaper, are beaten while dry, into relatively small particles consistingof separate fibers of substantially completely disintegrated paper andof small flakes of incompletely disintegrated paper'having a greatermaximum length than that of said fibers. These particles are produced insuch proportions that when thoroughly intermingled, the fibers form asoft wadding between 0 the flakes, and the resulting combinationconsists of flakes dispersed throughout the soft wadding in interlockingrelationship therewith.

.A laminated product having cushioning and insulating characteristicsmay be made by depositing a cementitious material on one surface of apiece of sheet fabric, depositing the above referred to flakes andfibers as a cushioning layer on the resulting cementitious surface, andpressing the particles so deposited into cementing relationship with thefabric.

In one species of the invention, the cushioning particles are depositedas a stream between two confluent sheets of fabric having cementitiousmaterial on their inner surfaces, thereby producing a cushionlayer-between the two fabric layers. The resulting laminations are thensplit medially of the intermediate cushioning layer to produce twoseparate laminated sheets, each having a fabric layer and a cushioninglayer cemented thereto. The cleavage surfaces, exposed by the fissure inthe cushioning layer, are given a deposit of minute droplets ofcementitious material and are then restored into face to face contactand cemented together.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be understoodmore clearly from the following detailed description in connection withthe appended drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective viewof one form of apparatus adapted for making the product of the presentinvention, the front sides of portions of the apparatus being removed toexpose to view the interior thereof, and portions being shown incross-section; Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a typical fibrousflake produced by disintegration of dry paper; Fig. 3 is an enlargedcrosssectional view of the flake of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged viewshowing a plurality of separate fibers of substantially completelydisintegrated paper; Fig. 5 shows on a larger scale an axial section ofa portion of the disintegrator rotor of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an enlargedperspective view of a finished cushioned pad or insulating product; Fig.7 is a perspective view showing a modification of a portion of Fig. 1adapted to provide a fabric layer between two cushioning or insulatinglayers; Fig. 8 is an elevation of a different type of machine from thatof Fig. 1, portions of the machine being shown in section, and the frontframe of the machine being removed in order more clearly to expose toview the details of the machine; Fig. 9 shows on a larger scale an axialsection of the disintegrator rotor of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a side view ofone of the hammers shown in Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 is a perspective view ofa modification of apparatus for producing droplets of cementitiousmaterial.

Referring to Fig. 1, paper such as waste paper and particularly oldnewspapers or other fabric of similar character, is deposited whilesubstantially dry into the receiving hopper 1, from which the paperfeeds to the disintegrator 2 of the beater type, having the rotor shaft3 upon which are mounted the radial disks 4 keyed fast to the shaft. 105Bolts 5 mounted in equally spaced relation near the periphery of disks 4support the metal hammers 6, preferably of rectangular block shape,which are free to swing independently of each other on bolts 5, as anaxis, and are preferably 1;

made of wear resisting material such as cold rolled or hardened steelfor example.

Shaft 3 is rotated at high speed by any suitable source of power notshown, the speed being preferably several thousand revolutions a minuteso that hammers 6 tend to assume positions radial to shaft 3 as a resultof the centrifugal force. The rapid rotation of rotor 3 disintegratesthe paper by beating it and tearing it into relatively small fragmentsconsisting of flakes 60 such as shown in Figs. 2 and 3,. and separatefibers 61, Fig. 4. The flakes ordinarily have numerous small partiallyfreed fibers extending therefrom, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Theseparate fibers 61, shown in Fig. 4, consist of substantially completelydisintegrated paper, and are so short that they do not combine with eachother with very appreciable coherency when intermingled with each other.1

The separate fibers and all the flakes below a predetermined size areselected by sifting them through the screen 7 in the base of thedisintegrator. The openings through screen 7 are so chosen that theflakes passing therethrough are relatively small, but have a maximumlength greater than that of the fibers 61. In an actual practical case,it was found that numerous flakes of average size had a maximum lengthof from one-eighth to three-sixteenths of an inch, but it is to beunderstood that this illustration is given merely as an example ofworkable sizes of flakes, and that the flakes may be varied somewhatfrom these sizes, depending upon the character of the paper used and ofthe desired product. The passage through the screen is facilitated bythe churning action within the disintegrator and by the suction producedby the motor driven fan 8 which blows the air together with the siftedparticles floating thereon through conduit 9 in the direction shown bythe arrowed line,,the particles being discharged into the large storagehopper 10 which may have the glass top section 11 for inspecting thecontents of the hopper.

Paddle wheel 12, located near the lower part' of hopper 10, rotates tomingle the particles in the hopper, and aids their movement towardpaddle wheel 13 which slowly rotates to periodically discharge definitequantities of the particles into the trough-like conduit 14 connectingwith conduit 15 discharging into the rotating fan blower 16 which drawsa strong current conduits 14 and 15 and then blows it into conduit 17 inthe direction indicated by the arrowed'line. The particles ofdisintegrated paper float along with the air stream into conduit 1'7 andare dis charged into the upper part of hopper 18 which has the innerwalls 19 and 20 converging toward each other. The opening between thelower ends of walls 19 and 20 is substantially closed by the feed roll21 which slowly rotates in a counterclockwise direction and has amultiplicity of short projecting teeth 22 extending from the peripherythereof to engage the particles in the hopper and feed them as a streamdown the inner wall 19. The thickness of this stream is controlled byrotation of the hand screw 23 threaded into the outer wall of hopper 18,thereby adjusting the position of wall 19. relatively to feed roll 21.Paddle wheel 24, placed closely aboveroller 21, rotates to churn theparticles in hopper'118- and aids the movement of the particles toward.roller 21. v

. Air entering hopper 18 from conduit 1'7 discharges through thecoarsely woven cover 25 of burlap or other suitable material, adapted toprevent escape of the particles. When the hopper becomes completelyfilled, the right hand end of conduit 17 is closed by the accumulationof particles therein, and the current of air and particles isautomatically shunted away from hopper 18 through the upright conduit 26which discharges through conduit 2'7 into the top of hopper 10, thuspreventing the production of excessive pressure within hopper 18, andtending to maintain a uniform stream of particles from roller 21. Aslong as the passageway intohopper 18 remains clear, the stream ofparticles from conduit 17- sweeps into the hopper without appreciableloss through conduits 26 and 2'7. A rapidly rotating toothed wheel 28near the discharge end of hopper 18 thoroughly intermingles theparticles as they cilitate the production of minute droplets, is

deposited on the inner surfaces of the sheets. The sprays 35 and 36,produced by the banks ofnozzles 37 and 38, directing atomizing blasts ofair past the nozzles 39 and 40 which discharge cementitious material,may be employed for producing the deposit of cementitious material onsheets 42 and 43.,

The particles discharged as a stream 41 from hopper 18 fall freelythrough the air and are deposited as a soft cushioning layer on andbetween the confluent sheets 42 and 43. The par ticles in layer 41adhere as a coating to the sheets 42 and 43 and the combined laminationspass between rollers 33 and 34. The beating of the.

' I't has been found desirable in many cases to six-position rollers 33and 34 in relation to stream 41 -..that the particles fall more directlyupon -she'etz43 than upon sheet 42, or so that the parof air throughticles are first carried on sheet 43 by first adhering thereto. Theparticles deposited upon sheet 43 then feed into cementing contact withsheet 42 between rollers 33 and 34. It will be noted in Fig. 1 thatstream 41 is shifted slightly:

to one side of the gap between rollers 33 and 34 so that the particlesfall more directly toward sheet 43 than sheet 42.

The cushioning layer 41, after passing between rollers 33 and 34 issplit medially of the layer by feeding sheets 42 and 43 away from eachother over freely rotatable rollers 44 and 45, the sheets 42 and 43being then converged toward each' other again. The cleavage surfaces ofthe fissure produced in layer 41 are then given a deposit of minutecementitious droplets by the sprays or clouds of droplets 46 produced bya bank of nozzles 4'1 directing blasts of air past nozzles 48,discharging cementitious material. The two sections of layer 41 are thenrestored into face to face.contact with each other by feeding thecombined laminations between freely rotatable rollers 49 and 50. Drivingrolls 51 and 52 progressively advance sheets 42 and 43 with layer 41therebetween, and temporarily compress the cushioned laminations tofacilitate the cementing of the particles and layers. The pressure ofroll 52 toward roll 53 is controlled by rotation of nuts 53 threaded onscrew bolts 54 fast to the frame 55. Nuts 53 vary the compression ofhelical spring 56, pressing on the bearings of roller 52.

The shear blade 57 rotating on shaft 58 in a counter-clockwise directioncooperates with the fixed shear blade 59 to cut the finished cushionedproduct into pieces of desired length, a sample of such a piece beingshown in Fig. 6. It will be noted that the sheet 42 is represented inFig. 1 as being appreciably thicker than sheet 43, but it is to beunderstood that the thickness of either sheet may be varied between widelimits according to the desired use of the finished product.

In Fig. 6, the flakes 60 will be seen to be interlocking or dovetailedrelationship with each other. The separate fibers 61 form soft waddingbetween the flakes and are locked in place by flakes 60, as well as bythe cementing bond with the sheets 42 and 43, and between the particlesin the vicinity of the sheets and of the cleavage surfaces of thefissure in layer 41. The beating, churning, and mingling of the dryparticles tend to produce curls and kinks therein, thus improving theircushioning and interlocking characteristics.

Owing to the different sizes, shapes, and positions of the particlesmaking up cushioning layer 41, and the method by which the cementitiousmaterial is applied to the particles, portions only of the cementableparts of the particles are bondedtogether and as a result, the particlesare free to bend and slide on one another between their cementedportions so that the desired cushioning characteristics may be obtained.The loose cellular structure between the uncemented portions of theparticles, in view of the low thermal conductivity of the material ofthe particles, provides relatively high thermal insulation. By leavingportions of the particles uncemented, the natural springiness of theparticles is preserved to a large extent, and an efiicient and durablecushioning and insulating product is produced. The cushioned pad of Fig.6 has been found to be particularly adapted for use in the paper boxindustry, especially in making the cushioned tops of candy boxes, and isalso usefulas a sheathing paper and as insulation against thetransmission of sounds and heat or cold, or for packing. The method ofmaking the cushioned product is simple and of low cost, while thematerials employed are readily obtainable in large quantities at lowcost in comparison with other available materials.

After splitting the cushion layer 41, the resulting laminated unitsconsisting of sheets 42 and 43 respectively, with their adheredcushioned layers, may be separately utilized, similarly to the productshown in Fig. 6, without cementing the laminations together betweenrollers 49, 50,

51 and 52.

Instead of cementing the particles in stream 41 to sheets 42 and 43,they may be discharged from hopper 18 and used in bulk for cushioningand insulating purposes, the flakes 60 functioning similarly to thoseshown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 7 shows a modification of the machine of Fig. 1 between rollers 33and 34, and rollers 49 and 50, the third sheet 62 of flexible fabricsuch as paper, being fed from roll 63, free to rotate on shaft 64. Sheet62 feeds between the cleavage surfaces of the fissure produced in layer41. thereby producing a bonding element between the two sections 65 and66 of the cushioning layer.

Banks of spraying nozzles 67 and 68 respectively, deposit cementitiousmaterial on the cleavage surfaces of layer 41 and at the same time onthe two surfaces of sheet 62, so that the combined laminations passingbetween rollers 49 and 50 are cemented together as a single unit. The

resulting product possessed greater strength than that of Fig. 6, andmay be used similarly thereto.

The machine of Fig. 8 has the input hopper 1, into which is placed thedry paper to be disintegrated. The disintegrator 2 has a rotor 69constructed somewhat differently from that.

shown in Fig. 1. The shaft 3 has the radial disk 4 keyed fast thereto,Fig. 9. Pairs of disks 4 support the fixed shafts 70 upon which arefreely swivelled the arms 71 having bifurcated outer ends. Between eachpair of ends is supported of wall '76 and the wall of hopper 75, and aredeposited on the top of feed roll 77 having the sma'l projecting teeth78. Roll 77 rotates slowly, as shown by the arrow, and feeds a loosestream of particles '79 from the hopper, allowing the particles to fallfreely through the air in more or less spaced apart relationship intothe bottom of the V-shaped trough formed by the sheets 42 and 43, offlexible fabric, such as the paper in sheets 42 and 43, Fig. 1. Thesheets 42 and 43 feed longitudinally into confiuency between drivingro..lers 51 and 52. The particles in stream 27 feed through a fog-likecloud 84 of cementitious droplets formed by nozzles 85 dischargingcompressed air from blower 88, past nozzles 86, which dischargecementitious material from the reservoir 87.

A valve 83 for each of the nozzles 85 and 86 is adjusted so that thecementitious liquid is very finely divided into droplets which tend tofloat on the air as a fog-like cloud and become deposited on theparticles in stream 79 passing therethrough. By making the droplets veryfine, a cementitious deposit can be produced with less blowing of theparticles from their proper positions in stream 79 than when the sprayis deposited with force on the freely falling particles. An advantage ofthis method of applying the cement to the particles in stream 79 is thatthe cement tends to deposit in spaced-apart relationship on theparticles so that portions only of their cementable parts eventuallybecome cemented together. At the same time, sheets 42 and 43, whichconfine the droplets in cloud 84 to the region of stream 79, receive adeposit of cementitious material.

The particles in stream 79 are brought together between sheets 42 and 43and form the cushioning layer 80. The pressure of roll 52 toward roll 53aids the cementing of the particles, and of the layer 80 to sheets 42and 43, thus producing an eflicient cushioning or insulating unit.

Fig. 11 shows a form of apparatus adapted for producing and depositingminute cementitious droplets, and particularly for depositing thedroplets on the particles of disintegrated paper in tions.of.;.theparticles. The: casing 89 is partly filled with I the thin liquidcementitious material 90; forming a pool in the, lower portion'of thevcasing. A roller 91, dipping tangentially into the liquid 90, rotates ina clockwise direction and carries an adhered coat of the liquid 90 onits periphery. Any excess of the liquid on roller 91 is removed by thewiper 92 which also helps to spread the liquid so that a film of uniformthickness remains on the roller. 'A shaft 93 rotating at high speed in acounter-clockwise direction, has the bristles or stifi wires 94extending radially therefrom. The outer ends of bristles 94 brush overthe periphery of roller 91 and throw off a spray 95 of minute dropletsof the cementitious liquid, these droplets forming a fog-like cloud 96in the vicinity of stream 79, so that the droplets become deposited onthe particles of disintegrated paper, somewhat similarly to a deposit ofdew. The apparatus shown in Fig. 11 may obviously be utilized fordepositing cementitious material in place of any of the spraying oratomizing apparatus shown in Figs. 1, '7 and 8.

Various modifications of the details described herein as illustrative ofthe invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without de-*and thickness of layers in the product.

parting from the principles disclosed herein. For example, variationsmay be made in the thickness and character of the fabric or materialemployed in the backing sheets, or in the number Obviously, a finishedlaminated sheet, such as produced by the method of Fig. 1, 7 or 8, maybe fed into the machines in place of sheet 42, thus making additionalcushioning layers in the final product to produce a product of greaterthickness having greater cushioning and insulating characteristics thanthat of the product shown in No claim is herein made to the productwhich is claimed in our co-pending application above referred. to.

Having, thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The method of making a cushioned product from waste paper, whichconsists in beating the dry paper into substantially free fibers andrelatively small flakes of paper having a maximum length greater thanthat of said free fibers, intermingling said flakes and fibers,depositing said mingled particles as an intermediate layer between 2.pair-of sheets of fabric having a ce'-'- mentitious material deposited'on their irmer faces, splitting the resulting. laminations medial- 1yof said intermediate layer, depositing cementitious material on theresulting cleavage surfaces, and pressing-said surfaces together in faceto face contact with each other.

2. The method of.makin'g a cushioned product from waste paper,.whichconsists in disintegrating the paper. into relatively small particles,depositing'said disintegrated .paper as a loose filler between twoconfluent spaced apart sheets of fabric having sticky cementitiousmaterial on their inner faces, producing a medial fissure in said fillerlayer, depositing droplets of cementitious material on the cleavagesurfaces of said fissure, restoring said cleavage surfaces into face toface contact with each other, and pressing said surfaces together.

- 3. The method of making a fiber product, which consists in floating acontinuous stream of fibrous particles on a current of air to a hopper,discharging said particles from said hopper on a progressivelylongitudinally moving adhesive sheet of fabric to form a uniformcushioning lay- .100 er thereon, and automatically shunting said streamof particles back to the source when said hopper tends to becomeoverfilled with said particles.

4. A machine for making a cushion fiber product having, in combination,means for beating dry paper to' form substantially free fibers and smallflakes, means for continuously feeding two sheets of fabric; means forapplying a cementitious material to the irmer face of at least one nosheet of fabric, means adjacent to one of the sheets for agitating thebeaten paper to intermingle the fibers and the flakes, and means forthereafter loosely depositing the intermingled flakes and fibers betweensaid sheets. '15

5. The method of making a cushion product which consists in beatingpaper while dry to form both partially and completely disintegratedparticles in interlocking relationship, agitating the beaten paper tointermingle the particles, ap- 13o plying adhesive to a fabric coversheet, applying to said sheet a loose layer of said dry beaten paper,and applying to the cushion thus formed a second enclosing sheet,

1 AUGUST GERARD. 25 MAURICE WEISMAN.

